Pistol flash-light.



Patented May 26, 1914.

J. BLOCK.

PISTOL FLASH LIGHT.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12, 1913.

nulululllll nl l ml UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH BLOCK, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIG-NOR TO INTERSTATE ELECTRIC NOVELTY 00., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PISTOL FLASHLIGHT.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JosnPH BLooK, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pistol F lash- Lights, of which the following is a specification.

The purpose of the invention is to provide a pocket flash light in imitation of a pistol and of simplified, durable and convenient construction.

The present invention pertains more particularly to certain improvements on the pistol flash light made the subject of my application for Letters Patent filed June 10, 1913, Serial Number 772,780, said improvements relating to the position of the battery terminals and the means for completing the circuit through the lamp on the pull of the trigger, it being highly desirable that this circuit shall be completed in an effective manner and without complication of moving contacts each time the trigger is pulled and held in its rearward position.

The casing of the flash light comprises two shells or half sections, hinged together at one edge and adapted to be latched together at the opposite edge to complete the casing, and said casing in its handle portion is adapted to detachably receive a dry or semi-dry battery, which may be replenished at any time desired. The lamp is detachably secured at the outer end of the barrel portion of the pistol casing, and the trigger is provided Within the casing with means for pressing one end of a special conductor into electrical engagement with the lamp while the other end of said conductor is in engagement with one of the battery terminals. The other battery terminal is in electrical connection with the pistol casing, and hence on each pull of the trigger a circuit is established from the battery through the casing and lamp. I have so constructed and arranged the spring conductors confined within the pistol casing that said casing is adapted to receive the customary form of dry or semi-dry batteries without any requirement that the terminals extending therefrom shall be changed in any particular on the application of the battery to the pistol casing, and herein resides one of the important features of the invention and a feature which characterizes the present in- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 12, 1913.

Patented May 26, 1914.

Serial No. 789,521.

vention from the invention disclosed in my aforesaid application filed June 10, 1913.

The invention will be fully understood from the detailed description hereinafter presented, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a side elevation of a pistol flash light constructed in accordance with and embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a front end view of the same; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same, with the two parts of the casing of the flash light opened outwardly from each other, the lamp being carried by one half-section of the casing and the battery and trigger by the other halfsection thereof; Fig. '-l is a longitudinal section, partly broken away, through a portion of the flash light, showing the relation of the conductor carried by the trigger to the lamp when the two parts of the casing are closed together and the trigger is in its normal or non-operated position; Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section through the flash light about on the dotted line 55 of Fig. 3, and Flg. 6 is a vertical transverse section through a portion of the casing of the flash light on the dotted line 66 of Fig. 1 and is presented to illustrate more particularly the latch at the upper side of the casing for releasably locking the two sections of the casing of the flash light together.

, In the drawings, 10 designates the exterior casing of the flash light as a whole, and this casing is, as shown, formed of two substantially corresponding longitudinal sections 11, 12 hinged together, as at 13, at their lower edges and provided at their upper edges with a suitable latch for locking the two sections together, said latch comprising a spring bar 14 secured to the inner upper side of the section 12 by means of a rivet 15 and having at its forward end an opening 16 adapted to, upon the closing of the two sections of the casing together, snap upon and receive the lower end of a stud 17 secured to the section 11 of the casing. The spring bar 14 has secured to it an upwardly extending finger-piece 18, which, when depressed, will carry the forward end of the spring 14 and aperture 16 therein from the lower end of the stud 17 and permit the two sections of the casing to be opened outimitation of a pistol or revolver having a handle portion and a barrel portion, the section 11 having pivotally secured to it a trigger 19 protected by a guard 20 riveted to said section. The casing sections 11, 12 are hollow sheet metal matching shells, and within these shells is formed a chamber 21, in the handle portion, to receive a suitable battery 22, while within the barrel portion of the shells is created a chamber 23 to receive the upper end of the battery 22, the conductors 24, 25 extending therefrom, the conductor 26 mounted upon a support 27 of vulcanized fiber or other non-conducting material, a conductor 28 of conducting material in electrical engagement with the main casing and the conductor 24, and a bar 29 of vulcanized fiber or other non-conducting material carried upon the upper end of the trigger l9 and utilized for pressing the forward portion of the conductor 26 into electrical engagement with the lamp at the contact point 30 when the circuit is to be formed through the lamp. The support 27 of vulcanized fiber or the like is recessed edgewise to receive the conductor 26, and said support is held by a sheet metal clip 31 fastened to the inner surface of the section 11 by means of the pin 32 by which the trigger 19 is secured in place. The conductor 26 is formed from a strip of sheet metal and has its forward end bent downwardly, as at 33, and its rear end bent upwardly and downwardly, as at 34, whereby a pocket is formed to receive the upper end of the terminal 25. contact with the rear end of the conductor 26, and the forward end of said conductor, the part 33, is in constant engagement with the bar 29 of non-conducting material.

The conductor 28 is located in the upper rear or what may be termed the hammer portion of the casing, and is a strip of metal having at its lower end a laterally extended ear secured by a rivet 34 to the casing section 11. The upper end of the conductor 28, which is of spring metal, is bent forwardly and downwardly and is in constant electrical engagement with the battery terminal 24, which as shown in Fig. 3, extends upwardly from one edge of the battery 22 and then horizontally above the upper surface of said battery, this being the.

normal position of the terminal 24, while the normal position of the terminal 25 is vertical. The terminal 24 is an elongated metal strip, while the terminal 25 is a reasonably short metal strip, being much less in length than the terminal 24.

The lower portion of the casing or shell of the flash-light rather snugly receives the battery 22, as shown in Fig. 3, and when said battery is placed within the casing its terminals 24, 25 engage the conductors 28, 26, respectively, which aid in retaining the The terminal 25 is in constant battery in stationary position but permit the battery to be readily removed upon the opening of the casing.

The trigger 19 is formed from a piece of sheet metal and mounted on the pin 32 on which is placed a coiled spring 35 which acts to throw the lower end of the trigger forwardly and whose force must be overcome on pulling the trigger to flash the light. Upon the upper end of the trigger is formed a rearwardly extending plate 36 having lips 37 to clip upon the strip or bar of vulcanized fiber or other insulating material 29.

The outer end of the casing section 12 is provided with a socket 38 to receive the lamp 39, and when the parts of the casing are together the terminal 30 at the inner end of the lamp stands in near relation to but free of the forward portion 33 of the conductor 26, as shown in Fig. 4. When the trigger 19 is pulled rearwardly it rocks the non-conducting bar 29 carried by it forwardly and downwardly and thereby causes the same to flex the forward portion 33 of the conductor 26 forwardly into electrical engagement with the terminal 30 of the 'lamp and complete the circuit by which the lamp is lighted. lVhen the trigger 19 is released to be restored to its normal position by the spring 35, it rocks the non-conducting bar 29 upwardly to allow the forward portion 33 of the conductor 26 to move rearwardly from the lamp terminal, thereby breaking the circuit.

A very desirable feature of the invention resides in the fact that the conductors 26, 28 are so constructed and arranged that they may engage the terminals 25, 24, respectively, of the battery 22 when said terminals are in the usual condition in which the bat teries are sold for pocket flash lights, the short terminal 25 standing vertically and the terminal 24 being extended horizontally, as shown.

It is of considerable advantage that the owner of one of the flash light pistols may buy a battery 22 of the character commonly used in pocket flash lights, and, without manipulation of the terminals, insert the same directly into the pistol ready for immediate use. It has been found that difliculties have arisen when in order to adapt a battery to a flash light pistol some bending or other manipulation of the terminals 24, 25 has been required, and one of the purposes of my invention is to remove such difiiculties and provide a flash light pistol adapted to at once receive the usual battery having the terminals as commonly arranged for pocket flash lights of various kinds. Ordinarily in a pocket flash light the terminal 24 would engage the lamp and the terminal 25 would be in position to be engaged by the usual push button found on pocket flash lights. My invention permits of the use of these batteries by their mere insertion in the casing with the terminals, Without change therein, placed in engagement with the conductors 26, 28 disposed in the manner illustrated in the drawings.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A flash-light comprising an exterior metallic hollow casing in sections to be opened from each other and imitating the handle and barrel portions of a pistol, a trigger connected with one of said sections, anelectric lamp in said barrel portion, a battery in said handle portion having one terminal in electrical connection with said casing, a conductor at one end in engagement with the other terminal of said battery and insulated from said casing, and a member carried by said trigger to move the other end of said conductor into electrical engagement with said lamp when the trigger is pulled.

2. A flash-light comprising an exterior metallic hollow casing in sections to be opened from each other and imitating the handle and barrel portions of a pistol, a trigger connected with one of said sections, an electric lamp in said barrel portion, a battery in said handle portion having one terminal in electrical connection with said casing, a conductor at one end in engagement with the other terminal of said battery and insulated from said casing, and a non-conducting bar carried by said trigger to move the other end of said conductor into electrical engagement withsaid lamp when the trigger is pulled, said conductor being a spring metal strip having one end in constant engagement with its battery terminal and its other end disposed between the rear end of said lamp and the forward end of said non-conducting bar.

3. A flash-light comprising an exterior metallic hollow casing in sections to be opened from each other and imitating the handle and barrel port-ions of a pistol, a trigger connected With one of said sections,

an electric lamp in said barrel portion, a battery in said handle portion having one terminal in electrical connection with said casing, a conductor at one end in engagement with the other terminal of said battery and insulated from said casing, and a member carried by said trigger to move the other end of said conductor into electrical engagement with said lamp when the trigger is pulled, one terminal of said battery being substantially short and vertical and the other terminal of said battery being longer and extended inwardly over the top of the s ane.

4. A flash-light comprising an exterior metallic hollow casing in sections to be opened from each other and imitating the handle and barrel portions of a pistol, a trigger connected with one of said sections, an electric lamp in said barrel portion, a battery in said handle portion having one terminal in electrical connection with said casing, a conductor at one end in engagement with the other terminal of said battery and insulated from said casing, and a member carried by said trigger to move the other end of said conductor into electrical engagement with said lamp when the trigger is pulled, one terminal of said battery being substantially short and vertical and the other terminal of said battery being longer and extended inwardly over the top of the same, and said conductor at one end being bent into pocket form where it receives and engages said short terminal, and said casing having secured thereto a spring strip conductor which is bent forwardly andin contact with said longer terminal to establish the connection of said terminal with said casing.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 22nd day of August, A. D. 1913.

JOSEPH BLOCK.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR MARION, CHAS. C. GILL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 0! Patents. Washington, D. 0. 

